Waitresses fired for not fitting into skimpy cocktail outfits (Philly.com)

At least 15 cocktail waitresses have been fired from an Atlantic City casino after they couldn’t fit into the company’s new, tiny, backless flapper-style uniforms, prompting seven of them to file a lawsuit.

MSNBC and the Philadelphia Daily News reported that the Resorts Casino Hotel canned the women – who happened to be middle-aged, longtime employees – for “not meeting uniform requirements.”

Said MSNBC:

Union officials say that Resorts is using the 1920s flapper-style uniforms as a way to get rid of older cocktail waitresses in order to cultivate a younger clientele.

One of the fired waitresses, Nancy Schromsky, told NBC Philadelphia that the process of being judged in the uniform was humiliating. The women were directed to a room where the new uniforms were strewn about the floor and told to try one on and then be photographed.

The only sizes in the dressing room were 2 and 4, and the photos turned out to be an audition to see who would keep their jobs. The Daily News has a picture of the full outfit, which is a fringey lingerie-like thing that barely covers the butt. There’s also some long gloves and a garter belt.

MSNBC also has video of the women in regular clothes.
The Daily News interviewed Schromsky, a 59-year-old grandmother, who said she started working at Resorts in 1978.

“I wasn’t trying to compete with a 21-year-old, and she can’t compete with my people skills. I do a damn good job,” she told the news site.

The Daily News reported that an age-discrimination complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights could be in the works. The Associated Press also has a story here.